Living in the Fast Lane
by FantasyDreamer05
Summary: Juliet Christina Patterson lost her parents at a young age and has lived in a foster home most of her life. The Torreto's are the closest thing she's ever had to a family. The Torreto Team soon becomes her family too when she joins. Storyline of 1st movie
1. Fight at a Restaurant

**Hey, this is my first Fast and Furious fic. I hope you like it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, except for Juliet Christina Patterson. Nicknames: JC, Jules, or Julie.**

**Author's Note: Help me decide what the pairing in the story should be with my OC. Should it be VinceOC, LeonOC, or JesseOC? Or if you think it should be BrianOC and a VinceMia story... let me know. Maybe it should be a DomOC? Just let me know what you think, okay? Thanks!**

A pretty brunette walked through a door in the back of the store carrying a tray with dirty plates and cups on it. She walked through the waist high swinging door to get behind the counter and placed the tray on it. She let out a deep sigh, and swept a hand across her forehead to place a few strands of loose hair behind her ear. She turned to face the blonde who was sitting in a chair behind the counter. She had her legs crossed at the ankles and they were resting on the top of the counter. She had an iPod beside her, and a book in her lap.

"Juliet, get your feet off this counter!" The brunette walked over to the blonde and picked up her feet and let them fall to the ground. The blonde jolted forward as she lost her balance and glared at the girl standing before her.

"Was that necessary, Mia?" The blonde questioned.

"Actaully, yes it was, Julie." Mia crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "I don't know if you remember or not, but this is a _restaurant_, and people eat off of this counter."

"What people?" Juliet countered as she gestured around at the empty restaurant with her arm. "The only people who come to this place is that one blonde guy, and he could care less if he ate on a dirty counter or if he ate on the floor. He orders the same thing, and you and I both know he only comes to see you."

"That may be true, but we still run a business, which means we still have health inspectors that come, and if they were to come on a day when you had your feet up on the counter they could shut us down." Mia argued.

Julie waved an arm out in front of her again at the vacant parking lot. "Do you see any cars? No? Didn't think so." As she finished talking she placed her feet back up on the counter and continued reading her book.

Mia groaned and spun her head around to face the back of the shop. "Dom!" She whined.

There can an audible sigh from the back of the store. "Juliet." Came a deep warning voice from the back.

"All right, all right." Julie placed her feet back on the floor and leaned her elbows on the counter instead. "Happy?" She questioned Mia sarcastically.

Mia grinned at her and nodded her head. "Very."

Julie rolled her eyes and fixed her attention back to her novel, _New Moon_, when she heard the sound of a car approach. She tore her eyes away from her book and looked up to saw a red truck approaching. As the truck got closer she could make out writing on the side that read,_ The Racer's Edge. _

"Mia, Tuna Boy is here." Juliet called.

"What? Is that like his super hero name now?" Mia asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, actually it is. And along with having a super hero name, guess what else he gets? He also has a super power." Juliet said. "Yeah, he can actually turn anything into tuna with the blink of an eye."

"You're so childish." Mia scolded.

Juliet stuck her tongue out at Mia as a man with short, shaggy blonde hair, and bright blue eyes walked in.

"Hello ladies." The man said.

"Tuna on white, no crust, right?" Mia asked him as she walked over to the other side of the counter to start his sandwich.

The man smirked, "I don't know… how is it?"

Juliet let out a groan and let her head fall onto the table. "You ask that_ every time_ you come here."

Mia nodded her head in agreement. "Everyday for the last three weeks you've been coming in here and you've been asking me how the tuna is." The man chuckled at her and she continued, "Now it was crappy yesterday…"

"It was crappy the day before, and guess what?" Julie added.

"It hasn't changed." Both girls chorused together. They cast each other a glance then burst out into a fit of giggles.

The man smiled at them, "I'll have the tuna."

Once Mia had regained her breath she said, "No crust?"

The man nodded once, "No crust."

Juliet sighed and looked at him, "Why couldn't you just say that before? Why did you have to go through all that trouble?"

"Now where would the fun be if everyone just came and said what they wanted?" The man teased.

"You're an ass Brian." Juliet rolled her eyes at him.

Mia smiled as she handed Brian his tuna sandwich with no crust.

"Thank you," Brian smiled at her as she placed it in front of him.

Mia grabbed a wet rag from the sink behind her and began to wipe up the crumbs from off the counter while Juliet went back to reading her book.

"So how's college with you guys?" Brian asked in between bites of his sandwich.

"Community College sucks." Juliet complained.

"Have you picked out your major yet?" Brian asked.

"Nope. And I don't want to." Juliet said.

"Already know what you want to do?" Brian asked and Juliet nodded her head so he asked, "Want to have something to do with cars?"

"Yeah right. I'm about as useful with a car as a pig is to staying clean." Juliet said.

"Jules, pigs are clean."

Juliet groaned. "Okay, whatever. My point is… my job around here is not helping with the cars, cause I would somehow destroy them. My job is to give Mia a friend to talk to, keep the team sane, and play the dumb blonde so they have someone to laugh at." She explained.

"Oh, don't forget you also play the baby's role." Mia teased.

"Yeah, that's only cause you all treat me like a baby. You guys are always so protective." Juliet whined.

"That's only cause you're the youngest." Mia reasoned.

"Yeah, I'm only _one _year younger than you, Mia, such a big difference." Juliet said sarcastically. "I couldn't even begin to tell you the names of cars, let alone their parts."

Brian smiled and Mia's laughter was interrupted by the roar of an engine down the street coming in their direction.

"And here comes the rest of the team." Juliet mumbled as she looked in the direction of the engine roar and saw four cars come around the corner. A red one, a blue one, a yellow one, and a white one.

Once the cars parked a Latina girl, who looked to be around 23, stepped out of the red car. She wore a red camisole and had dark sunglasses on. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, but some strands were too short and they framed her face perfectly. Some other loose strands stuck to her neck from the sweat.

A guy around 24 stepped out of the yellow car. He had tanned white skin and dark blonde hair… or maybe it was brown…? It was slicked back away from his face and he placed his sunglasses on top of his head.

A guy with dark brown hair, that was spiked up, stepped out of the blue car. He looked like a Latino and he seemed to be around 25. He wore a red tank top, and his muscles were clearly visible. As he stepped out of his car he groaned. "Talk to me Jesse. This ain't workin' brother."

A boy around 22 stepped out of the white car. He had dirty blonde hair and he wore a white beanie on his head. "It's your fuel map, it's got a nasty hole." He said as he walked over to examine the Latino's car. "That's why you're unloading into third, Vince."

"I told you it was the third." The tanned guy said.

"Shut it, Leon." Vince told him sarcastically as he pointed at him to strengthen his threat and Leon rolled his eyes as he watched Jesse examine Vince's car further.

"I lengthen the injector, pulse another millisec, just tune the NOS time…" Jesse said as he tightened something in the car, "you'll run nines." He added as he closed the hood of Vince's car when he ended his examination.

Vince smiled as the hood closed and looked around the parking lot before he walked into _Torreto's Steakhouse_. He stopped short when he saw a very familiar red truck, with _The Racer's Edge_ written on the side, that he hated so much. He grabbed Jesse's chin and forced him to look up from the car.

"Huh?" Jesse asked startled. As if in answer to his question Vince turned his head around to face the red truck.

"What's up with this fool?" Vince asked as he released Jesse's chin from his grasp. "What is he sandwich crazy?" He patted Jesse's head as the only girl came to join them.

"Nah, V," Leon began, "He ain't here for the food, dog." He said and the girl groaned.

"Chill out, Bro." She said placing a hand on Vince's shoulder. "He's just slingin' parts for Harry."

Vince shook her hand off. "Letty, I know what he's slingin'."

Letty rolled her eyes as Leon spoke, "He's tryin' to get into Mia and Julie's pants, dog."

Vince shot Leon a look as he opened the door and the group walked into the _Steakhouse_.

"What's up guys?" Mia asked the group as they walked in.

"How you doin', Mia?" Leon asked as the door shut behind him.

"Hey guys!" Juliet chimed as the group walked in.

"How you livin', girls?" Letty asked then she looked at Juliet and rolled her eyes. "Girl, get your feet off the counter." Letty teased Juliet.

Juliet rolled her eyes as she went back to reading her book. She had gone back to her previous position with her legs crossed at the ankles with her feet propped up on the counter.

"I've been trying to tell her!" Mia said exasperated.

Juliet shrugged her shoulders at Letty. "I don't listen very well."

"Apparently." Jesse teased as he and Leon walked over to the rack of sunglasses. Jesse reached for one of the sunglasses, but Leon snatched it away before Jesse could even grab it.

"Hey!" Jesse complained.

Letty rolled her eyes and walked around to the other side of the counter and bent down to grab a soda from the fridge. When she straightened up she turned to look at the back of the store. "Hey, Dom, you want something to drink?" She asked.

Dom didn't even look up or turn around, in answer to her question he held up the beer he was drinking, then went back to work.

Letty sighed in frustration then sat down at the counter. "Whatever." She mumbled under her breath.

Juliet sighed as Vince came and sat down at the counter, only a few seats away from Brian. Vince looked at him and slid a bowl with packs of sugar across the table at him. Brian looked at the bowl then turned to Vince, but said nothing. Juliet groaned as she placed her feet on the floor and stood up.

"I want no part in what is about to happen." She said to Mia before walking over to Jesse and Leon.

"Ah, he's beautiful." Jesse said as he tried on a pair of sunglasses.

Leon shrugged. "I like his haircut."

"You both are ridiculous." Juliet told them. She gave the sunglasses Jesse was holding another look and shook her head. "Not for you." She said as she took them off him and placed them back on the rack. Jesse rolled his eyes and they turned their attention back to the counter, where Mia was trying to get Vince's attention. But Vince seemed to intent on staring Brian down.

"Vince." Mia called, but ignored her. "Vince!" She called louder and this time Vince looked at her.

"What?" He asked her.

"Can I get you anything?" She questioned him.

Vince nodded his head while he was deep in thought. "You look good." He finally said.

Brian rolled his eyes as he pulled out his wallet and placed a 5-dollar bill on the counter and smiled at Mia, "Well, thanks a lot Mia." He said as he stood up, "See you tomorrow." He added before he walked out the store.

"Sure." Mia smiled back at him.

"Do you think he gets it?" Jesse whispered to Juliet.

"Be patient…" Juliet told him. "5, 4, 3…"

"Tomorrow?" Vince questioned to himself.

"Oh, I love this part." Leon commented to himself.

"2, 1." She finished as Vince slammed his fist down on the counter.

"Yo!" He called out to Brian as he followed him, "Try Fatburger from now on. You can get yourself a Double Cheeseburger with fries for 2.95, faggot."

Brian turned around to face Vince and shrugged his shoulders. "I like the tuna here."

Vince growled, "Bullshit, asshole. No one likes the tuna here." He yelled to Brian's retreating back.

Brian smirked and called over his shoulder, "Yeah, well I do." He pulled his keys out of his pocket and tried to unlock his door, but Vince slammed him into the side of the truck.

Brian turned around and punched Vince in the face causing him to stumble backwards. Vince retaliated by lunging at Brian's upper legs and tackling him into the side of Brian's red truck. Brian pushed Vince off of him and sidestepped away from the truck. Vince stood up and lunged at him again pushing him toward Leon's car.

"Dom!" Juliet cried as they all rushed to the window to see what was happening.

"Jesus Christ, Dom! Would you get out there?! Please, I'm sick of this shit!" Mia yelled to her older brother. When Dom didn't move Mia shrieked, "I'm not kidding, Dom! Get out there!"

Dom slowly stood up and walked over to the screen door, the only thing separating his office from the _Steakhouse_. He looked outside to see how the fight was going and saw Vince was getting ass kicked. Brian had him in a headlock and was punching him in stomach repeatedly.

Dom leaned one arm on the top of the doorway. He had a smirk on his face and everyone knew that meant he was going to say something sarcastic.

"What'd you put in that sandwich?" He teased Mia.

Mia crossed her arms over her chest and gave her brother a glare. "That's real funny." She deadpanned.

"Dom." Letty pleaded and Dom looked over at her. She motioned her head toward the fight and he sighed. Everyone knew he would do anything for Letty.

"All right." He said quietly as he opened the screen door and walked out into the _Steakhouse_. He took one last look at the fight outside and saw Brian throw Vince into the cars. Dom growled as he, now angrily, made his way to the front door, with Leon and Jesse closely behind him. Letty and Juliet looked at each other and made their way toward the fight also. Letty stopped and looked at Mia to see if she was coming, but she shook her head. Letty shrugged and continued on outside and joined Juliet on the sidelines.

Brian pushed Vince to the ground and sat on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He punched him in the face once, and that was all he got. After that one punch Dom picked him up and threw him into the side of Vince's car. Dom stood there and waited a second to regain his composure. He was clearly angry at Brian.

"Hey, man, he was in my face." Brian argued as he threw his hands up in an, 'I come in peace' gesture.

Dom slowly walked toward Brian and pointed a finger in his face. "_I'm _in your face." He told Brian angrily.

Vince finally stood up and came at Brian from behind Dom. When Dom saw him try to get by him, he grabbed his shoulders and threw him at Leon. "Relax!" He yelled at him as Leon placed one hand on Vince's shoulder to hold him back, "Don't push it!" Dom continued to yell at Vince, "You embarrass me!"

Vince made another move to get at Brian, but Leon push him away, "Get over there!" He told Vince as he threw his bag of chips at him.

Dom looked on the ground and saw a dark brown wallet laying on the floor and figured it was Brian's. "Jesse, give me the wallet." Jesse did as he was told and bent down to retrieve the wallet. He handed it to Dom then straightened up.

Dom flipped the wallet open and looked at license. "Brian Earl Spilner." He read then looked up at Brian. "Sounds like a serial killer name…" He said questioningly then gave Brian a look. "Is that what you are?" He asked pointing the wallet at Brian's face.

"No man." Brian told him.

"Don't come around here again." Dom warned him as he waved the wallet in his face to emphasize his point. Brian took his wallet from Dom, and Dom turned to go.

"Hey, man, you know this is bullshit." Brian called out to him. Dom turned back around marched back over to Brian.

"You work for, Harry, right?" Dom questioned.

"Yeah, I just started." Brian told him questioningly.

"You were just fired." Dom told him as he walked away.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Brian complained.

Dom threw a hand up in the air in a gesture to silence him, and Brian growled as everyone followed Dom into the _Steakhouse_. Brian groaned and then looked at Juliet who was still standing outside.

"Can't you do something?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "Once Dom makes up his mind nothing can stop him."

Brian groaned, "This is great, just great."

"Juliet!" Dom called, "Get in here!"

Juliet threw a glance over her shoulder at the store then looked back Brian, "I'm being summoned." She said apologetically.

"Juliet!" Dom called again.

She backed away toward the store. "Sorry." She mouthed to Brian before disappearing inside the store. Once inside the store she walked over to Mia was getting some ice and putting it in a plastic bag.

She cast a glance at Dom who had the phone up to his ear and was waiting for the person on the other line to pick up. She sighed and looked outside just in time to see the red truck drive off.

Mia handed Juliet the bag and a damp cloth and motioned to Vince. "Go help Vince." She pleaded.

Juliet sighed as she took the bag and cloth and walked over to Vince. She handed him the bag of ice and he placed it on his arm. Vince winced as she placed the cloth on a cut on his forehead.

"Next time don't get into a fight." She told him and he rolled his eyes.

She turned her attention back to Dom when she heard him speak. Apparently the guy on the other end picked up.

"Harry," Dom began. "I want your new help gone." He said.

_What? Why? What did he do?_

"He almost ruined my cars for one thing, and secondly he got in a fight with Vince." Dom said.

_Dom, he's new. Give him a break. _

"Harry, he needs to go. He's causing problems down at my store."

_Just give him a few weeks, he'll learn how things run around here. _

"My cars don't have a few weeks here. If he's get in another fight my cars might not last."

_Dom, you know as well as I do that good help is hard to find. He's a hard worker, and he loves car. He works more at my store than I do. I can't fire him._

Dom sighed. "All right. I took care of it this time, but if it happens again, I won't be so forgiving."

_Did Vince hurt Brian? Should I worried?_

Dom cast Vince a glance, "No, Brian seems like a capable fighter. I'll have to check Vince just to make sure he's okay."

_All right. I'll set Brian straight when he gets here. Thanks a lot Dom._

"Anytime, just warn him I won't be so nice next time."

_Hey, Dominic, I appreciate what you did in a big way._

"I was just taking care of my team."

_Dominic, I owe you._

Dom hung up the phone and turned to Vince. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Me?" Vince questioned.

"Why can't you control your temper?" Dom questioned him.

"Dom, we've been best friends since third grade. I couldn't control it then and I can't control it now." Vince told him as Juliet giggled.

Dom gave her a look and she quickly shut up. "Look, just get ready for the race tonight." He said as he headed to the back, but turned back around to Vince. "And don't get in anymore fights or you're off the team." He warned as he exited the room and left everyone to get ready for the race in a few hours.

**REVIEW! Please let me know how I did, and tell me if there's anything I need to fix whether it's grammatically or something in the story… or if you think one of the characters was out of line… Or if you really just don't like the story… I want to know! Thanks! :D**


	2. Start Your Engines

**Sorry it took me so long to update this story. I've been super busy and I've had a crazy case of writer's block. Speaking of writer's block, I'd like to thank Rue Dawn for helping me with this chapter. Thank you for giving me ideas and getting me through the writer's block. :)**

**Write and tell me what you think of it, whether good or bad. However, if it's bad, make it constructive criticism, don't just write and tell me you hate the story. This is and that's exactly what I'm writing: fanfiction. No, it's not going to follow the storyline of the movie exactly, and some characters are going to say extra lines or their lines will be diminished. It doesn't matter. Whatever the case, all I can say is, don't like, don't read. As simple as that.**

**So, without further adu, the next chapter!**

"If you two don't hurry up, we're gonna leave your asses!"

Juliet and Mia giggled as they heard Dominic shout up the stairs to them because the two of them were taking a little too long to get ready. Juliet rolled her eyes as she placed the curling iron underneath her arm while she brushed out the dark lock of Mia's hair, giving the wild curl a gentle wave. The blonde stood back a little as she examined her work on Mia's hair before declaring it done as she unplugged the curling iron. She set it down on the dresser to allow it the chance to cool while Mia turned to look at herself in the mirror.

While Juliet applied the finishing touches to her make-up, Mia wrapped the curling iron up and placed it in a drawer before turning to examine the blonde and giving a slight smile. Juliet was wearing a form-fitting, black leather skirt that had slight ruffles at the bottom making it stop a little above her mid-thigh. She was also wearing a dark red halter-top, which came down in a 'v', giving a teasing look of her cleavage. The shirt was tight, figure hugging, and stopped above her navel, where a sparkling pink diamond heart dangled from her navel ring. On her feet, she wore black suede ankle boots with a concealed platform that had about a five-inch heel. Around the front and sides, many black stones and chains studded the shoe. There was no zipper, the shoes just slipped on.

Along with the foundation that gave her a slightly more tanned look; her cheeks were tinted with a hint of pink blush, strengthening her already sharp, pretty features. Her bright blue eyes stood out against the dark, smoky eye shadow that surrounded it. The hint of light pink that she used to line her lids made her eyes appear even brighter and the black eyeliner just made her eyes pop more than they already did. A small smile played at the corners of her glossed lips, giving her a perfect pouty-lip look. Juliet had straightened her blonde hair, making her layers seem even shorter than they were, but the total length fell a little ways past her shoulders. She blew her bangs out of her face and swept them to the side so she could see, before turning around and facing Mia who only shook her head.

"Dom's gonna have a cow when he sees you," Mia told her as she slipped her own heels on. "You know how protective he gets," She said jokingly before standing up and turning to her friend.

"Dom can just deal." Juliet rolled her eyes before grinning at the girl. "I'd be more worried about him finding out about you and Brian than me." She continued in a teasing voice causing Mia stare at her in confusion.

"Oh, don't give me that look," The blonde stated as she pulled out her tube of black mascara and applied a few coats to her lashes, making them appear and fuller and longer. "I may be a blonde, but I'm very observant," She added as she placed the mascara back in the drawer before turning to face Mia. Juliet crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the dresser.

"What are you talking about?" Mia asked, but despite her protests, her cheeks flushed slightly with color and gave her away. "Look, nothing is going on with us. He's just really cute…"

"You've got a thing for Tuna Boy."

"Can we stop calling him that?" Mia asked exasperated as she turned to face Juliet who shook her head.

"Not at all," She replied, "It's my own little pet name for him."

Mia rolled her eyes. "You can be so annoying at times, you know that?"

"Actually, I do. I'm the baby, remember? I gotta live up to my rep," Juliet teased, "Look, you like Brian and he likes you, so go for it. You're a grown woman; Dom won't always be able to look out for you. You're gonna have to think for yourself eventually." Taking in the look on Mia's face Juliet sighed. "Just promise me, you'll at least think about it?" She urged as she looked at Mia expectantly. "He seems like a nice, _normal_ guy and you don't get normal guys around here very often. It'd be a good change for once."

Mia sighed. "All right, fine. I'll consider it. Now, let's go down before Dom throws a fit." She paused as she glanced back at Juliet. _Well, at least throws another fit._ She thought before leading the way out into the hallway.

"I forgot my phone," Juliet said, "I'll meet you downstairs."

Mia sighed as she caught the blonde's hair whip around as she disappeared into the room. She shook her head before heading downstairs where everyone was waiting.

"Julie had to grab her phone, but she'll be back down in a minute," She explained.

"What took you girls so long?" Dom asked in annoyance and Mia grinned.

"Oh, you know us. We were just being girls."

"Letty was ready before you two," Dom countered.

"She didn't have to wait for someone to do her hair," Mia told him,"Now, relax. We're here and ready to go, okay?"

"Yeah, five hours later," Leon said, "How the hell does it take girls so long to get ready? I don't—" His voice cut off and Mia instantly knew that Juliet was walking down the stairs.

She didn't even have to turn around because she just knew that everyone's eyes were trained on the small blonde who felt her cheeks heat up at the staring looks she was receiving from everyone. Mia simply smiled in amusement at the girl's embarrassed expression. Her already pink cheeks flushed even more as Vince gave a teasing whistle. The second her foot left the steps and touched ground, she hid behind Mia and Letty who simply laughed before out from behind them.

"Well, look who's all grown up," Dom teased as he grabbed Juliet's hand who giggled as he made her do a small twirl. "I have to focus on racing, not chasing boys away from you," He told her. Juliet rolled her blue eyes, hitting his arm lightly in annoyance.

"I don't think the guy's are ready for you just yet," Vince added teasingly as he placed an arm around the blonde's shoulder giving her a one-armed hug. Juliet blushed again but managed to shove him away playfully and he laughed lightly.

"You guys are overreacting!" Juliet protested.

Jesse gave a smile, his cheeks reddening slightly. "You look good, Julie." He complimented and Juliet grinned at him.

"Thanks, Jesse."

As Dominic and Vince continued to tease Juliet about her now grown up appearance, Leon couldn't help but think how right they were. She looked so grown up, so different from how he was used to seeing her. Yes, she was very pretty, but she had never looked _this _way before. He shook his head and inwardly kicked himself. _Of course she looks grown up, she's twenty one after all. She isn't a baby._ He told himself, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from her. He was intrigued at how she could look so innocent yet so sexy at the same time. What he didn't realize was that Dominic had been watching him the whole time, and he seemed to be able to read Leon's thoughts.

"Dom, please, can I ride with you?" Juliet pleaded and Leon tore himself from his thoughts as the blonde begged Dominic to let her go with him for the ride to the track, but he shook his head no. Until Juliet pursed her lips and gave a small pout, causing Leon to go right back to his previous thoughts of the blonde girl.

"Pwease?" She asked in a kiddie voice and her lower lip quivered as her blue eyes widened slightly giving a look that very much resembled a little lost puppy.

Leon chuckled slightly to himself. There was no way Dominic would be able to resist the look that Juliet was giving him Leon thought knowing that if it was him receiving that look he would give in. He turned out to be right. With a defeated sigh, the leader of their team nodded his head at the girl.

"All right, fine." His voice was gruff and annoyed, but Mia knew that he wasn't really as annoyed as he tried to come across. That was just his outer exterior; he was a totally softie and a guy who would do anything for his family on the inside and that was really all that mattered to any of them. "Let's go." He said as he led the way outside to the garage where the cars awaited them. Everyone got into their own cars except for Juliet who got into the passenger side of Dominic's car.

Before anyone knew it, they were off on the way to the races with everyone thinking it would just be like any other normal race. Oh how wrong they were.

As Dominic slowed his car down when they approached the site where all the street racers gathered before the race, he turned to Juliet. "I want you to be careful," He told her and she rolled her blue eyes at him. "Juliet, I'm serious. I want you to stick with me until the race starts then stick with Leon during the race. Help him monitor the radio," He added and the blonde sighed in annoyance that she had to sit out on the sidelines once again. She didn't respond at first and Dominic persisted. "Juliet," He began in a warning tone and she groaned.

"Fine." She finally said as she crossed her arms over her chest and the car officially pulled to a stop. "I'll sit back and do nothing once again."

Dominic laughed. "Stop being a baby."

"I would if you all would quit treating me like one!"

Dominic's grin grew wider. "Keep dressing the way you are and you definitely won't be treated like a baby anymore," He said teasingly and the blonde glared at him as they both climbed out of his car.

"I hate you," She told him over the top of the car once she had closed the door and Dominic simply shrugged, grin still in place as he turned to greet everyone. Juliet made sure to stick close by him like he had requested until the races began. She got lost in all the chaos as he talked to all his friends from racing. She wasn't paying attention until she heard her name being thrown around in the conversation that was happening.

"Juliet, all grown up I see baby." She heard Edwin say and as she turned towards him, he gave her the once over, her cheeks heated up as Dom sighed.

"Down Edwin," Dom teased jokingly, but Edwin could detect a warning tone throughout and Edwin raised his hands in defence as he took a step back.

"Just looking. I'll be a window shopper," He said and Dominic rolled his eyes.

"That better be all for tonight," Dominic said, "At least in her case," He added and Edwin nodded in agreement at the unspoken threat between them.

The other two who were standing around the group shook their heads. No one ever messed with Juliet because if they did, they had to answer to Dom. He was almost more protective of her than he was of Mia only because he knew Mia knew how to handle herself. Even though everyone was sure Juliet could handle herself in a situation, the girl was feisty and she had a temper that could match a firecracker. However, because she was the 'tiny' baby of the team, smaller and more fragile looking than Mia and Letty, everyone on the team, including the other two girls, felt the need to protect the petite blonde.

Edwin decided to change the conversation over to the races to stop Dominic from giving him the evil eye that he was receiving. "So, how we doin' this tonight?" He asked, and the tall, built leader took the bait immediately, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he talked about the race that was about to take place.

"One race. Two-G buy-in. Winner takes all." He paused to let the words sink in before turning to a Hispanic man beside him, a few inches shorter than him. "Hector, you're gonna hold the cash," He told him and everyone started to hand him the money to get into the shook his head as he slapped his roll of cash into Hector's hand.

"Why Hector?" He asked.

"He's too slow to make away with the money, man," Edwin said jokingly and Hector rolled his eyes as everyone laughed at the joke.

"Very funny," Hector told him with a scowl.

Dom gave a small chuckle before shaking his head. "Okay," He said, trying to get their attention enough to start the race. Everyone stopped laughing and turned back to Dominic as he spoke. "Good luck guys." He told them and everyone started to turn and walk away, but a voice called out and stopped them.

Juliet and Mia both glanced at each other, recognizing the voice immediately. The voice belonged to Tuna Boy, or Brian to anyone other than Juliet who turned around to see Brian walking up to the group, something pink in his hand.

"Hey, wait. Hold up," He said as he made his way into the center of the circle, facing Dominic. "I don't have any cash, but I do have the pink slip to my car," He said, giving the pink piece of paper in his hand a small wave to emphasize his point.

Jesse shook his head and spoke before anyone else could. "Hey, you can't just climb in the ring with Ali 'cause you think you box," He said and Juliet turned and gave him a small smile, letting him know she had found what he said funny.

Brian shook his head and pointed at Vince. "He knows I can box," He said and Vince scowled at him darkly. He looked about to say something, but Juliet walked over to him, placing a soft hand on his arm, stopping him. Brian turned his attention back to Dom. "So check it out. It's like this. I lose; the winner takes my car, clean and clear. But if I win, I take the cash and I take the respect."

"Respect?" Dominic questioned a sarcastic tone in his voice, almost mockingly.

Brian shook his head, a serious look in his deep blue eyes. "To some people, that's more important."

As Brian spoke his one line, Mia glanced over at him, pleasantly surprised. Maybe Juliet was right. Maybe he was different from the other guys she had been interested in. Maybe, just maybe, she might give him a try. His blue eyes met her light brown, a small smile playing on her lips because she found that respect meant much more in her opinion. He seemed to understand that.

Dominic's sarcastic response suddenly became serious. He agreed with the kid, but was surprised that he felt that way. "That your car?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and gave a nod to the bright, neon green car behind the group.

Brian nodded, and Dominic pushed his way through the group before stopping in front of the car. He popped the hood open and pushed it all the way up so Jesse could tell him what the car contained.

"I see a cool-air intake. It's got a NOS-fogger system and a T-four turbo, Dominic. I see an A.I.C. controller. It has direct port nitrous injection—" Jesse began to list off all the features the car had, but Dominic cut him off.

"Yeah, and a stand alone fuel management system." Dominic paused as he turned to face Brian. "Not a bad way to spend 10,000 dollars."

Edwin shook his head. "You see this shit? He's got enough NOS in there to blow himself up, period."

Dominic nodded. "Yeah."

Brian paused as Jesse closed the hood. He waited a few seconds, but when no one said anything, he decided to try his luck. "So what do you say? Am I worthy?"

Dominic waited a few more seconds before answering the dirty blonde guy. "We don't know yet," He told him seriously, sizing Brian up for a minute before pausing as a grin spread across his face. "But you're in. Let's go."

He then headed back to his group and their cars. "Yo, Leon," He called out to his friend who was leaning against the hood of his car, Juliet sitting on the hood with Mia beside her. Letty was already at her own car and Vince and Jesse were close by the two girls.

"What's up, Dom?" Leon asked as he pushed himself off the hood.

"Juliet's gonna ride with you for the race," He told him. "Watch her and make sure she doesn't get in any trouble." Leon laughed.

"Her? In trouble?" He asked sarcastically. "I don't know what would you give _that _idea, she's an angel," He said as he gave Juliet a teasing wink, she rolled her eyes in response.

"You guys, I am not that bad. I stay out of trouble!" The blonde protested and Dominic shook his head as the girl hopped off of the hood.

"You might stay out of trouble, but trouble seems to find you," He told her with a grin and she rolled her baby blues once again.

"Whatever," She said with a hint of annoyance in her voice and Leon chuckled.

"Don't worry, Dom." Leon threw an arm around Juliet's shoulders and pulled her against his side, kind of in a protective manner. For the moment, he seemed to think of her once again as the baby of the group. "I'll make sure she and trouble stay as far apart as possible," He reassured Dom and that seemed to set the bald-headed man at ease because he headed to his car.

He opened his door, but before climbing in, he turned to everyone. "Let's ride."

"So, pick your poison." Leon held up three different CD cases, spreading them out in a fan like manner in his hand once he and Juliet got into his car.

A shiny, silvery case with metallic writing on it caught her eye and she glanced at the name of the band: Skillet. The next CD in line was a black and dark blue case with a bunch of trees surrounding the name of the band, written in spidery script: Avenge Sevenfold. But, the third and final case caused the blonde to crack a smile. This one was white with a red grenade on it in the shape of heart and she immediately recognized it as the symbol for the band Green Day. She pulled that CD out of his hand and while he tossed the others into his centre console, she slipped the shiny circular object into the thin slot and the song American Idiot came blaring over Leon's speaker system.

Once the music had started, it left no room for conversation and Juliet's hand trailed down to the hem of her skirt where she absent-mindedly twirled the black ruffles around in her fingers. The movement caught Leon's attention and his gaze flittered down to where the blonde's hands had travelled and he watched as she twirled the edge of the skirt around, making the material shorter than it already was. His eyes travelled down the length of her tan, toned legs before he quickly turned his gaze back onto the road as the temperature in the car suddenly seemed to shoot up a hundred degrees for him as he, once again didn't think of her as the baby of the group. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

Thankfully, he didn't have to think very hard. He put his car in park, and just as the song on the CD ended, Leon turned the dial to get it on the right frequency to listen to the police scanners. He was grateful to have something to distract himself from the girl sitting next to him as she continued to twirl the hem of her skirt; unaware that she was making it very difficult for him to concentrate on manning the scanners. Suddenly, the sound of an approaching car pulled him out of his thoughts and he turned his attention out the passenger window to see a black car with light-up sign for some pizza place on the roof of the car. The guy opened his car and leaned out of the open door as he watched many cars line up around the street, annoyance written on his face.

Leon opened his door and hopped out of his car. The cool night breeze that hit his face was enough to bring his thoughts back where they needed to be: on the approaching race. "Street's closed, pizza boy," He said waving his head in a dismissive manner.

Juliet watched as the pizza man glared at Leon before his attention drifted over to her through the open window. The fire in his eyes blazed from anger to something much similar to lust. Juliet instantly stopped twirling her skirt and brought her arms up to cross them over her chest, covering herself up as best she could, as she felt suddenly very uncomfortable under the man's scrutinizing gaze. She felt his eyes bore into her and she slouched down in the seat, keeping her gaze low and on the ground, suddenly finding the little specks of dirt on the floor of Leon's car very interesting.

"Hey, sweetheart, why don't you ride home with me tonight."

"Find another way home," Leon told the guy darkly, cutting off his attempt at trying to hook up with Juliet. "Get lost." He watched as the pizza guy's gaze drifted off of Juliet and back onto him, eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"Goddamn street racers," He muttered darkly as he climbed back into his car and backed it out the way he had come.

Leon watched the car leave his gaze never wavering from it as it sped away from them. He didn't want to climb back into his own until the pizza guy had disappeared around the corner. Well away from Juliet. Once the car was gone, and the roar of its engine faded away from them, Leon got back into his own car. He turned his attention back to the radio, still messing with the dial and buttons as he tried to find the right frequency and station to pick up the police radio and scanners.

"See? I told you trouble found you," Leon said teasingly as he continued to work on the radio and Juliet rolled her eyes at him.

"That wasn't my fault!" She exclaimed and Leon turned and grinned at her.

"I never said it had to be your fault; I just simply said trouble finds you," He exclaimed to her.

She suddenly felt her cheeks heat up as a light blush crept onto them when he winked teasingly at her. She didn't understand why, but she was suddenly grateful for the light, cool night breeze air blowing in through the open windows. He spoke again, but she wasn't paying attention to what he was saying, her attention completely on _how _he was speaking, the unique tone of his voice. She found herself smiling as he continued to talk, finding the sound of his voice very attractive and very sexy. Her smile grew a bit and she was brought out of her thoughts as Leon called to her.

"What's so funny, Jules?" He asked her and she blushed as she realized how obvious she had been, but thankfully, she didn't have to respond because the radio started to buzz and talk and Leon stopped what he was doing, realizing he had found the right frequency.

"_Log on 22, code three. Tension is high. They've blocked the street. We have a reported homicide, 187, at Barabian Liquors."_

Leon grinned as he picked up his walkie-talkie. "I got a 187 in Glendale. Cops are all over it, man. We're good to roll. I repeat, good to roll."

The walkie-talkie crackled before Hector's voice came out through the tiny speaker. _"All right."_

Leon grinned as the real fun was about to begin. "Let's race!" He cheered and Juliet smiled, thankful that the awkward moment was gone and they both could concentrate on watching the race. "I can't believe that new kid threw his pink slip down," He said as he turned towards Juliet who nodded. Somehow, she didn't seem as surprised as he was.

She didn't know Brian very well, but he seemed like the type of guy ready to do anything to get what he wanted. He seemed ready to fight for what he believed in. She almost laughed at the irony of it because he had actually gotten into a fight with Vince, and the blonde had been surprised when she found out that he had actually put up a decent fight. Vince hadn't been beat in a fight in a while, and it was refreshing to see him put in his place every now and again. She loved him to death, but he had a big head and could be very arrogant at times.

"Yeah, but he seems like he could take Dom in a race," She said and Leon shook his head.

"There's no way Dom is going to lose a race," He told her, "You know that."

She nodded her head in agreement with his statement. "I'm not disagreeing with you; I just think Brian seems very able to handle himself in a race," She stated as the roar of engines, the squeal of tires taking off down the road along with the cheers and shouts of excitement from the crowd of gathered street racers told the two that the race had begun.

A few moments of silence fell over the two and she groaned. "I want to race…" She pouted, wriggling slightly in her seat in anticipation and annoyance that she wasn't in the race.

Leon laughed as he raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "You've never wanted to race before."

"Well, that's more due to the fact that I don't know how to drive a stick shift and also the fact that I know absolutely nothing about cars," She told him as he shrugged his shoulders and he frowned.

"Yeah, that might help," He said, "If you want, I can teach you." He ventured the idea tentatively as he glanced over at her, he noticed her bright blue eyes seemed to glow even brighter in her excitement.

"Really?" She asked, her voice coming out in an excited squeal. "That would be awesome! Thanks!" She exclaimed.

And then she didn't something that Leon wasn't expecting. She reached across the centre console and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "Thank you!"

Completely lost in her excitement, she gave him a gracious, light kiss on the cheek and Leon, once again, felt the temperature in the car shoot up at the close contact between him and the blonde girl beside him.

However, before he could say anything, the roaring and rumbling growing closer was the distinct signal that the race cars were heading their direction and sure enough, a few seconds later, the roaring grew thunderous before the four cars passed by his own with such speed that he felt the car underneath him vibrate and rumble. He watched as sparks flew out from underneath Brian's neon green car. Something wasn't going as planned, but it didn't matter because Dom was able to use that distraction and take the lead as they rounded the corner.

"I'm gonna go meet them at the finish line." Juliet said as she opened the door and got out. As she walked around to the front of the car, Leon stuck his head out.

"Please be careful!" He called to her and she nodded her head at him over her shoulder before she found Vince in the crowd and walked with him as he took over his turn to watch out for her.

As they neared the end of the race, they saw Dominic's car pass the finish line first, Brian's car following quickly behind. They watched as Dom got out of his car and cheers erupted from the crowd meeting him as Hector walked towards him, holding the cash and Brian's pink slip out towards him. As Vince and Juliet got closer, they could hear what Hector was saying.

"Here's what you want right here. There you go. You were racin' a bunch of skateboards, know what I mean?" He added as a joke, Dominic laughed at it as Mia and Letty ran up to meet him with Jesse quickly behind them, Vince and Juliet brought up the rear.

"My sister holds the money. Count it." Dom said as he handed the money to Mia and then he turned to Letty, picking her up off the ground and twirling around as she laughed. "And you're my trophy," He told her before setting her back down.

Jesse walked forward, pushing through the crowd to get to Brian's now seemingly destroyed car. He gave Brian a glare. "Did ya have fun?" He asked sarcastically, voice laced with annoyance.

He rolled his eyes as he popped open the hood and smoke erupted from underneath the second it opened, spilling out over the side. The whole crowd seemed to take a step back as if the smoke was a poisonous gas, but Dominic's crew stood their ground, each waving a hand in front of their face as they tried to clear the smoke out so they could breathe.

Despite the fact that he had just lost a race, Brian had a huge grin on his face. Dominic stared at the kid as if he had lost his mind. "What are you smilin' about?" He asked him in annoyance.

Brian's grin grew wider at the question. "Dude, I almost had you."

Dominic let out a low, sarcastic chuckle at his statement. The crowd laughed along with Dominic, figuring it better to laugh and go along than not.

"_You_ almost had _me_?" He asked Brian. "You never had me. You never had your car," He stated and the crowd gave a sound of approval. "Granny shifting, not double-clutchin' like you should," At this, the crowd laughed. "You're lucky that hundred-shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on intake," He stated, then paused as he circled around the car. He glanced at the crowd that had formed around the car, himself, Brian and Jesse. "Almost had _me_?" He asked them and they all laughed at how ludicrous the idea was that Dominic had almost been beaten by an amateur. "Now me and the mad scientist gotta rip apart the block and replace the piston rings you fried," He made a motion with his head at Jesse before continuing. "Ask any racer. Any _real_ racer. It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winnings winning." He finished and the crowd cheered once again in approval of his moving speech.

Juliet rolled her eyes. Dominic played up this whole celebrity thing _way_ too much, in her opinion.

Suddenly, the walkie-talkie in Hector's hands buzzed and crackled before Leon's voice could be heard over it. "Oh shit! We got cops, cops, cops! Go!"

At that small statement from Leon, all hell broke loose. Every racer and onlooker rushed in every which direction trying to get to their car or a friend's car so they could get in and take off quickly before the cops showed up and hauled them all off to jail. Juliet, being very short, suddenly got lost in the crowd. She found herself jostled around from side to side and pulled backwards with the flow of it because when she turned around, Vince was no longer beside her. The only thing familiar that stuck out for her was Jesse's voice above the commotion shouting as loud as he could.

"Get in the car! Go!"

Suddenly, Juliet felt someone's shoulder slam into her own before she found herself thrown to the ground. She landed on the ground with a loud thud and her blue eyes suddenly filled with tears at the hard contact. As she shook her head, trying to think past the pain, the loud revving of engines and the squealing of tires reached her ears as everyone that had been around disappeared. The next sound that reached her ears was the sound of police sirens growing closer, and she suddenly became very aware that everyone had left and she had no way to get back.

She started to panic until a bright green car pulled up beside her. The passenger side door swung up and Juliet saw Brian leaning across the centre console towards her. "Juliet, let's go!" He told her urgently.

She nodded her head once not needing to be told twice. Instantly she hopped up, despite the pain shooting through her back and climbed into his passenger seat, slamming the door shut beside her as he peeled out of the parking lot with a roar of the engine and a squeal of the tires. Leaving behind a trail of smoke and black lines on the pavement where his tires had squealed, trying to find friction before shooting off. The buildings and sidewalks began to blur around her as Brian's speed picked up and they raced away from the scene.

"Thank you," Juliet told him quietly. She seemed to notice where he was going and shook her head. "We're not going to the shop," She said and he turned to her surprised.

"Where are we going?"

"Dom's house, better known as the fort." She told him simply.

At that moment, they heard a voice shout over a loudspeaker system. "Toretto! Stop right there!" Juliet figured Dom had started running because the voice shouted again. "Toretto!"

She turned to Brian, silently pleading with him to help Dom out. When he looked hesitant, she spoke up.

"It might help him like you?" She suggested and when Brian sighed she knew he was giving in to her request.

He turned the wheel and his car made a sharp right turn down an alleyway next to a parking garage. Up ahead, Dom was running away from them and from the police car that they had cut off and was now subsequently following them.

"Dom!" Juliet suddenly called. Brian quickly turned the wheel to the left and stomped on the brake so the passenger side door was towards Dom who stopped abruptly so he wouldn't fall into the car.

When the door opened, Dom did not expect Juliet to be the one to greet him. Especially in this kid's car. So many questions immediately flooded his mind, but he decided he'd ask them all once he was out of trouble with the police. At a later time. A _much _later time. He pushed all his questions to the back of his mind as Juliet scooted over out of the seat onto the centre console and he quickly climbed in. Once the door closed, Brian put his car into drive and sped forward as fast as he could coming out of the alleyway and making a sharp turn onto the road.

The sudden movement almost caused Juliet to fall backwards into the back since she wasn't sitting in a seat and just on the centre console. She quickly held onto the back of Dom's seat to keep her balance as the car spun around and reversed. Suddenly, she felt Dom place his hands on her waist before he lifted her up and placed her back down on his lap. She immediately relaxed, knowing that she was safe for the time being and that Dom wouldn't let anything happen to her. She unexpectedly felt very tired, but forced herself to fight the sleep that desperately tried to overtake her. The fact that Dom abruptly turned towards her, very upset, woke her up right away.

"Juliet, what are you thinking?" Dom questioned. "How the hell'd you end up with Brian and not Leon? Are you out of your mind?" The questions were fired at her in rapid succession and she shook her head, trying to focus on one question at a time.

"I was thinking I didn't want to get caught by the damn police. I ended up with Brian because he was the only one around after everyone left and I peaced out on Leon to go watch the end of the race, and no, I am not out of my mind; I actually think I'm quite sane," She told him, then paused as if contemplating her last statement. "Well, I guess sane is a relative term… more of an opinion, really—" Her sentence stopped when she caught Dom glaring at her, not finding the rambling very funny at the given moment.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Dom questioned again.

"Well, considering how it was this or get carted off by the cops, I figured I'd go with option A because it sounded much nicer to me at the time!" She snapped at him. "The least you could do is thank him for saving my ass," She said sarcastically. "Not to mention the fact that he also saved your ass as well." She added with just as much sarcasm.

Dom sighed as he rolled his eyes. She had always had a temper and an attitude when she was littler, but that had increased tenfold the more she had hung out around him and his team. Now, she was a complete force to be reckoned with when she got going, and it was probably all his fault she was like this. He smiled, however, at the thought that she was sarcastic with everyone, and it didn't matter who they were or how intimidating they seemed. Which wasn't always a good thing because then Dom or one of the other guys had to step in when things got too bad. Her sharp tongue was what usually got her in so much trouble. That, and the fact that she was a very attractive girl. That was a bad combination, Dom realized.

He shook his head and clenched his jaw as it hit him how much trouble she actually could have actually gotten into when she had been alone after the race. His anger suddenly shot up and he swore to himself he was going to kill Leon. He had specifically told him to watch out for Juliet, and he hadn't. He had let her go off on her own expecting that someone else on the team would have watched out for her, and that could have ended badly. He shook his head once again, as he calmed his thoughts and decided to change the subject feeling now was not the time for him to be losing his cool. He'd do that later when he arrived back at his house and could confront Leon about it.

Dom turned to Brian. "You're the last person in the world I expected to show up."

"Yeah, well, I thought if I got in your good graces you might let me keep my car," Brian told him, chancing a glance over at Dom before turning his attention back to the road. "Plus, Juliet told me it might be in my best interest to help you." He added.

Dom cracked a smile as he glanced at Juliet before laughing. "You are in my good graces, but you ain't keepin' your car," He said and Juliet laughed. A moment silence fell over the group before Dom spoke again, "You drive like you've done this before. What are you, a wheel man?" He asked as he turned his head once again to face Brian who suddenly gripped the wheel tightly before glancing over at Dom and Juliet and Brian shook his head as he looked back at the road.

"No." He answered simply.

"You boost cars?" Dom asked and he shook his head again, this time more vigorously.

"No. Never."

Dom nodded. "Ever done time?"

Brian gave a small shrug. "Couple of overnighters. No big deal," He told him.

Dom gave a small smirk. "What about the two years in juvie for boostin' cars?" He asked and Brian turned towards him, surprised. Dom's smirk grew bigger in victory. "Hah. Tucson, right?" He questioned him, and when Brian nodded, Dom laughed at his confused expression. "Yeah, I had Jesse run a profile on you, Brian Earl Spilner. He'll find anything on the Web, anything about anybody."

Brian glanced at Juliet, silently asking if she knew about this. She shook her head at him. "I didn't know that he had done a search, but I should have expected it," She said teasingly as she gave Dom a look. "He has Jesse do that with all the new people we run into."

Before Brian could comment, Dom cut in. "So why bullshit?" He asked looking back at Brian.

Brian shook his head, instead directing the conversation onto Dom, trying to learn more about him. "So what about you?" He asked. "You knew I did time, did you?"

Dominic nodded his head. "Two years in Lompoc. I'll die before I go back," He said.

A sound, almost like the revving of a small engine caught his attention and he turned his head around to see what it was. When he turned back towards the front, Juliet had seen the look on his face before. It was one he used wear when something was wrong, or wasn't going according to plan. He groaned and Juliet looked at him. "Oh great."

"What?" She asked him and he rolled his eyes, ignoring her, so Brian tried.

"What?" He asked, urging Dom for an answer, but his answer didn't come from Dom. It came from the appearance of quite a few motorcycles pulling up alongside Brian's car, surrounding it in every direction. Brian looked confused before he turned to Dom, asking for an explanation but all he did was shake his head and groan in frustration. Or maybe it was annoyance? Juliet wasn't sure, but she knew who the people on motorcycles were and she wasn't too happy about running into them either. Johnny Tran and his crew weren't always the nicest.

"It's gonna be a long-ass night, that's what," Was all Dom said.

"Follow us."

Juliet immediately recognized him as Johnny and he didn't even give Brian a chance to respond before he sped off down the road, his crew of motorcycles following him. Brian turned to Dom, asking him what to do. Dom nodded his head in the direction the motorcycles had disappeared to, letting him know they didn't really have another choice but to follow. Brian did as he was told, pressing his foot onto the gas harder in an attempt to catch up with the motorcycles disappearing up ahead on the street. In seconds, he had caught up just as they turned a corner and headed up to a restaurant entitled _T&K Food_.

"Stay close to me," Dom said as the motorcycles stopped and the riders all climbed off. "And don't say anything smart-ass."

Johnny took off his helmet, setting it on his seat and the others followed suit. Dom and Brian exchanged a glance before Brian climbed out of the car. Dom opened the door and allowed Juliet to get out first before he followed quickly after her. As he closed the door behind him, he stepped up beside Juliet, quickly trying to rack his brain as he tried to think of a way to explain why they were in Tran's territory. He tried to think of an excuse that would sound good enough, or at least pass, but nothing was coming to mind.

"I thought we had an agreement. You stay away, I stay away. Everybody stays happy," Johnny said to Dom who glanced up, torn from his thoughts.

Dom shrugged. "We got lost Johnny, what do you want me to tell you?" He asked, clearly frustrated.

Johnny walked around the car to where Dominic was standing. "Who's 'we'?" He asked him, sending a look at Brian and then at Juliet, his gaze lingering for a few seconds longer than what Dom thought was necessary.

Dom paused. "Uh… my new mechanic," He said then turned to Brian and waved a hand at each person as he introduced them. "Brian, meet Johnny Tran. That guy in the snakeskin pants, that's his cousin, Lance," He said and made a small motion of his head at Juliet. "You've met Juliet before."

Johnny's attention turned back onto Juliet, his dark brown eyes travelling up from her long, slender legs before meeting her baby blue ones. He nodded his head once in approval and turned to look at his cousin, who smirked. "Juliet, you seem to have grown up quite a bit since I last saw you," Johnny commented, wearing the same smirk on his face as Lance before turning back to the blonde girl. "Why don't you come join me here? You'd look quite nice sitting on my Honda. You'd compliment it nicely," He told her and her blue eyes narrowed in hostility.

"Why don't you get lost and shove it up your ass?" She questioned him, her blue eyes blazing icily with anger but her voice was sickly sweet.

"Your temper and sharp tongue hasn't change one bit, I see," Johnny commented.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," Lance said, nodding his head the same way Johnny had and Juliet felt as if she were at an auction being sized up and examined before she was bought.

A low growl emitted from Dom's throat before he spoke. "So when you gonna give me a shot at that Honda 2000 of yours?" His teeth were clenched as he tried to hold back the harsh tone in his voice.

Johnny ignored him, turning his attention away from Juliet and on to Brian's neon green car. "This your ride?" He asked, turning to Brian.

Brian shook his head. "It was. It's his now," He said with a nod at Dom who shook his head as well.

"No it's not. I haven't taken delivery," He said quickly.

"It's nobody's car?" Johnny asked, surprised sarcasm filling his voice as he looked up at the three. "Somebody put in the wrench time. What do you think, Lance?" He asked as he turned to his cousin, who hadn't taken his gaze off Juliet, his eyes still blazing with lust towards the girl.

"It's an amazing machine," Lance commented, and Juliet got a distinct feeling he wasn't just talking about the car at the moment and in her uneasiness, she stepped closer to Dominic as Johnny turned around and eyed Juliet once again.

"Yes, indeed," Johnny said in agreement before he headed back towards his motorcycle. He grabbed his helmet and slipped it on before saddling across the seat. "Let's go. I'll see you in the desert next month. Be ready to have your ass handed to you," He told Dom who simply laughed.

"You're gonna need more than that crotch rocket," He taunted back towards him, and Johnny simply smirked.

"I got something for you." With that said, he revved his engine and popped a wheelie before taking off, his crew following after him just as quickly as they had come. As Lance drove off, following his cousin, Dominic watched as his gaze, which never faltered from Juliet who instinctively stepped behind Dominic again, trying to shield herself from Lance's look.

Dom's gaze hardened until he watched them disappear out of sight. Once they were gone, he groaned in annoyance before he went to get into the car, but Brian stopped him.

"What the hell was that all about?"

Dominic sighed as he turned and spoke over his shoulder. "Long story. I'll tell you later. Let's get outta here," He said as he continued opened the car door, suddenly he stopped as a strange sound reached his ears.

It was the sound of engines and it suddenly got very close. After a few more seconds, two motorcycles appeared back around the corner. Dominic groaned in frustration.

"Now what do they want?" He questioned. He suddenly stopped as Johnny and Lance raised a gun each and pointed it at the car. Dom grabbed onto Juliet and dove towards the ground, covering Juliet with his body just as a spray of bullets erupted overheard and pounded into Brian's car. Then, just as suddenly as they had arrived again, they disappeared. Dom stood up and pulled Juliet to her feet, before freezing as a small smoke started to rise from the car. His eyes went wide.

"NOS!" He shouted before him and Brian pulled Juliet down to the ground with them just as the bright green car erupted into a bright green flame, shooting a few feet into the air before slamming back down onto the pavement.

"Damn, I hate those guys," Juliet groaned as she slowly sat up.

"You all right?" Dominic asked her and she nodded her head as he stood up before offering her his hand, which she gladly accepted.

As he pulled her to her feet, he glared off in the direction the two Trans and their crew had gone. "I'm gonna kill them! I'm gonna smoke his ass at that race coming up!" He shouted in frustration before he took a deep breath to calm himself and started to walk away, Juliet beside him. Brian stared after them for a few seconds before quickly catching up, walking on the other side of Dominic.

"So what the hell was that all about?" He asked.

"It's a long story," Was all Dominic could say, but Brian wanted more than that so he pushed the subject and Juliet shook her head at him, letting him know she thought it was a bad idea, but he didn't listen.

"We got a 20-mile hike. Humor me," Brian told him and Juliet laughed.

Dominic turned and glanced at the kid, giving him a strange look. He was surprised he had pushed it; most people would drop something if he suggested it, but not Brian. He was beginning to realize that this kid was different from most. A smirk of amusement graced his features.

"A business deal that went sour," He said then laughed before adding, "Plus, I made the mistake of sleeping with his sister."

Juliet groaned with a roll of her eyes. "Please tell me I don't have to listen to this story again. Plus, I can't exactly walk twenty miles in these shoes." She paused to point to the five-inch heels that adorned her feet. "No way."

Dominic rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should wear decent running shoes from now on," He said and Juliet stuck her tongue out at him before he stopped. He crouched down a bit and turned his head over his shoulder to look at her. "Hop on."

Juliet did as she he said and jumped up onto his back to get the piggyback. As her weight landed on his back, he shook his head at how light the girl was. It almost felt as if he didn't have anyone on his back. His hands grasped onto her legs at the back of her knees, holding her in place so she wouldn't fall off. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Even though she knew Dom wouldn't let her fall, it helped her to know that she had something to hold onto in case something did go wrong. It was her anchor, her support system for herself.

The trio walked in silence for a while until they reached the main road. "You can't carry me on your back the whole way." Juliet told Dominic who sighed before waving down a taxi that was just about to pass them.

The yellow cab pulled over to the side of the road towards them and as it did so, Dom released his hold on Juliet's legs allowing her to slide off his back. He opened the door to the back of the cab and Brian slid in with Juliet sitting next to him. Dom sat on the opposite side of Juliet. Just as he closed the door, the cab took off down the street after Dom had given him the address to his house.

Juliet didn't even realize that she had fallen asleep until she felt someone shaking her. Her bright blue eyes fluttered open a few times, as she adjusted to the dim light, trying to wake herself up. She lifted her head off Dom's shoulder as she turned to him. Her eyes were dazed with confusion for a few moments before it began to register where she was and everything that had happened in the last hour and a half came rushing back to her. She gave a small yawn as she stretched a bit, lifting her hands over her head and arching her back.

"Come on, Sleeping Beauty," Dom said as he got out of the car and helped her out. As Brian climbed out, Dom paid the driver before he sped off.

Juliet shook her head, wondering how she hadn't been woken up from the loud music blaring out of the house. She followed Dom up the walkway with Brian behind her. Beer bottles littered the front yard, as did many street racers. Some sitting in the grass too drunk to move while others were all but having sex in the yard. Juliet rolled her eyes as Dom pushed open the front door, and stepped inside. He looked around the room before taking a few more steps and moving further into the room. He turned back towards Brian, stopping in his surveillance of the room.

"Yo, Spilner, want a beer?" He asked him and Brian nodded.

As Dom talked to Brian for a few minutes, Juliet looked around the room, getting an idea of who was there. She spied Vince sitting in a chair near the front room, a guitar in his lap. He lightly strummed the strings for a few moments before grabbing the beer bottle beside him and taking a swig. She glanced back around and saw Letty was sitting on the steps that led to the upstairs floor of the house, probably waiting for Dom. Jesse was in the kitchen with some brunette chick, and Mia was nowhere to be found. Juliet figured she was probably upstairs studying or if she had seen them arrive, trying to make herself look cute for Brian.

And then she saw Leon. He was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, a little ways away from Vince with a blonde girl. She looked like one of the girls—Juliet thought tramp or whore was a better name for what she was—who only came to the races for one thing: to hook up with any of the male racers that they could in order to try to get some money for the night because they didn't want to get decent jobs. Everyone in the street racing gig called her and everyone else like her a racer chaser because she only went for the racers. They chased around the racers, trying to find the one who they thought was the best and would win loads of cash.

The girl straddled Leon's lap, his arms around her waist, one of his hands was holding onto a beer as the girl nibbled on his neck. Juliet felt her stomach twist into an uncomfortable knot, well, many knots as she watched him and the girl. She didn't understand why she had this feeling, but she couldn't shake it. And it bothered her to no end, burning a hole through her. She didn't get much chance to dwell on the feeling because Leon glanced up from the girl, and he seemed to notice Dom standing there for the first time since they had arrived.

"Yo, Dom. Hey, man. We were just about to go lookin' for you, brother," He said, but Dom didn't seem happy to see him.

He stomped past Juliet towards Leon, anger radiating off him with every step he took. When he reached Leon, he knocked the beer out of his hand, sending it flying into the wall and startling the girl in Leon's lap. Leon shrunk back a bit from the dark look in Dom's eyes that he received. Leon got the feeling that the look wasn't just for leaving Dom behind; he got the feeling that Dom was pissed he had let Juliet out of his sights. He watched as Dom took a few deep breaths and clenched his fists together, trying to calm himself down before speaking.

"Where were you?" He asked, voice deathly quiet.

"There were mass cops there," Vince said, speaking up in defence for him and the others. "They came in from every direction. Man, that shit was orchestrated," He added.

Dom ignored his excuse, instead pointing at the beer bottle sitting next to him. "This your beer?"

Vince nodded. "Yeah, that's my beer."

Dom nodded as he snatched bottle up, off the table. He passed by the kitchen on his way to Brian and paused with a roll of his eyes. "Yo, Einstein. Take it upstairs. You can't detail a car with the cover on." He called to someone and Juliet knew he was talking to Jesse because he was the only one in the group who had that nickname, or a variation of it. "Can't even get that right." Dom mumbled under his breath as Letty stood up from the stairs and walked over in his direction, hoping to calm their fearless leader down.

"You all right?" She asked him.

Dom glared at her as if it was a stupid question, which given circumstance it was. His team had ditched him completely all because they were a little afraid of the cops. He had been left and if it wasn't for Brian and Juliet he'd have been dragged back to jail.

"Am I all right?" He shot the question back at her sarcastically, almost as if to say, _What do you think? If you were left, how would you feel? _He shook his head, his anger slowly building with every second that ticked away on the clock. He closed his eyes in attempt to keep himself from snapping at her, because that wasn't what he wanted to do at all.

Letty narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. "It was just a question," She shot at him.

Vince seemed to have recovered from the shock of having Dom snatch his own beer away because Juliet watched him stand up and she knew trouble was about to erupt. "Yo, Dom! Why'd you bring the buster here?" He questioned loudly.

Dom spun around on his heels, the anger he had worked so hard to suppress suddenly back, blazing in his eyes full force. He was pissed at Vince because he was supposed to be his best friend, but yet he had left him without a second thought. He was pissed at Leon for leaving Juliet when he was supposed to be watching the girl. He was pissed in general at the whole situation and he had been trying so hard to not snap at anyone, but Vince wasn't catching onto that part. He shook his head, his jaw set.

"'Cause the buster kept me outta handcuffs!" He shouted at Vince. "He didn't just run back to the fort! The buster brought _me _back. He kept me and Juliet from spending the night in jail." His voice was dark and angry, and it had an accusatory tone to it as he glared at Vince, as if to say _Where were you when I needed you?_ Dom shook his head before turning around to Brian and holding both beers out to him.

"You can have any brew you want—as long as it's a Corona." He told him, waiting for him to take one of the beers. He glanced over his shoulder at Juliet, making sure she was okay before turning back to Brian.

He took one of the beers out of his hand and took a swig. "Thanks man," He told Dom who gave a small grin.

"That's Vince's so enjoy it," Dom told him. He watched as Brian nodded to him, then his eyes locked with someone just behind his shoulder and he knew the kid was staring at Vince. Brian took another swig of the beer, his eyes narrowing at Vince who glared at the kid.

"You…" Vince growled, but Brian turned to Dom.

"Hey, bro, you got a bathroom?" He asked.

Dom nodded. "Yeah, upstairs. First door on the right," He said and Brian nodded, setting his beer down on a table before heading upstairs. He sighed as Juliet walked up beside him as everyone else from the team joined them.

"He's got no call bein' up in here." Vince was clearly still pissed that Brian had taken his beer, and more importantly seemed to be taking Mia from him. "You don't know that fool for shit."

"He's right, Dom," Letty said, but Dom ignored her and turned to Vince, his voice calmer than it had been previously.

"Vince, there was a time when I didn't know you."

Vince stared at Dom as if he was crazy. "That was in the third grade!" He exclaimed, annoyed that Dominic would just let this new kid waltz into their lives without even questioning his motives or actions or anything.

"Vince might be right," Leon said, "You don't know anything about him. Yeah, so he brought you and Juliet back—"

Dom suddenly turned on Leon, the anger blazing in his eyes once again. "Think about that sentence for a minute," He questioned darkly. "He shouldn't have had to bring Juliet back with me because she was supposed to be with you!" He shouted. "You were supposed to be watching out for her! What happened to that? What? Did you get distracted by your little racer chaser?" His eyes glared at Leon and Leon took a step back, clearing not having been expecting Dom to turn his anger onto him. But, here he was yelling at him.

"Dom, I'm sorry! I thought Vince was going to look after her!" He exclaimed, defending himself.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Dom snapped, "What if something had happened to her! Huh?"

Juliet suddenly felt a flicker of guilt slowly spread through her. She didn't want Leon to get in trouble because she had skipped off on her own without thinking. It was her own fault, and she felt bad that he was taking the fall for her—well, Dom was making him take the fall for her. She sighed as she took a step forward, placing a hand on Dom's upper arm.

"I wanted to watch the end of the race, it was my fault. He was watching me like he was told. I left him without giving him a chance to think," She explained. "Please, just stop yelling at him."

Dom's anger softened a bit, but he continued to glare at Leon. "You got off lucky tonight," He told him darkly, shaking his head. "You better be thanking her for saving your ass," He said to Leon. He paused before speaking again, trying to calm himself down. "Yeah, so, uh, what girls are here?" He asked, changing the subject.

Vince laughed as Leon spoke. "You just name it," He said then turned around motioning to the blonde girl he had previously been preoccupied with. "You want mine?" He asked.

Letty scowled at Leon. "You need to shut the fu—" But before she could continue, Leon spoke again, teasing the girl.

"You want two?" He asked Dom, and Letty scowled more at him.

"You don't have anything," Dom stated, jokingly.

"You look a bit tired," Letty told Dom as she took his hand in hers. "I think you should go upstairs and give me a massage," She added as she started to head towards the stairs, but Dom didn't budge. Letty turned around towards him and could see his playful smirk in place.

"That's not doing anything for him being tired," Juliet interjected with a grin and Dom nodded in agreement to the girl.

"Plus, look at all our guests," He said, waving his hand around the room to motion at all the many people still gathered in his house.

"So how about we go upstairs and you give me a massage?" Letty said again, this time more forcefully and Dom grinned before allowing Letty to lead him towards the stairs and upstairs.

Vince rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Crazy lady," He commented.

As Dom and Letty were walking upstairs, Brian passed by them and Dom stopped him. "Yo, you know you owe me a ten-second car, right?" He asked the kid who stood in his spot, shocked.

Letty laughed as she leaned again Dom. "Ouch. Oh shit." She said jokingly before Dom pulled her the rest of the way up the stairs.

Brian rolled his eyes before he walked over towards the group and stood in front of them, everyone staring at him. Juliet watched as Vince's eyes narrowed at him.

"Did you wipe the seat?" He questioned Brian darkly and Juliet rolled her eyes, but before she could intervene and say anything, Mia rushed out of nowhere and stood in front of Brian, facing Vince.

"Oh, Jesus Christ! Would cut this shit out already?" She questioned Vince in annoyance. "Come on! Come on, let's go get me a drink," She told Brian as she grabbed him by the upper arm and led him into the kitchen.

Leon wrapped an arm around Vince's shoulder and grinned. "Awe, come on, man. We were just about to get along!" He called after Mia and Brian jokingly.

Juliet rolled her eyes at Leon as he headed back to the blonde girl he had left sitting in his chair. The party was still going on, but for some reason she just wasn't in a very party mood. Seeing Leon with that chick had upset her and she didn't understand why, but it had. She sighed before heading outside where she could think and watch the stars. She sat down on the front steps that led up to the house and sighed as she gazed up. Everything was becoming so complicated lately and she just didn't get it. Tonight in particular was confusing her. Her thoughts were interrupted as Mia came outside of the doors with Brian behind her.

"Hey, Juliet, you okay?" She asked her and the blonde nodded her head.

"Yeah, I just wanted a little bit of quiet and it's hard to get it in that house," She said. She could tell by the look Mia was giving her that she didn't believe her, but she seemed a little preoccupied with Brian at the moment, so she didn't push it.

"All right, well I'm going to take Brian home. Get some sleep, all right?" Mia told her before leading Brian out to where she had her own car parked.

Juliet sighed. Sleep sounded like a very good idea. She stood up from the steps and headed inside. A lot of the people had cleared out, but there were still some people milling around. Vince was still in his chair in the corner and Jesse was sitting next to him, his head bobbing as he tried to keep himself awake. But Leon was nowhere to be found. She rolled her eyes before heading up the stairs to her own room where she could get some sleep and hopefully make sense of everything that had happened tonight.

**Please, please, PLEASE, review!**


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